Hope Williams Brady
Hope Alice Brady (née Williams) is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives. Created by writer William J. Bell, she has been portrayed by Kristian Alfonso since she was SORASed to an adult on April 14, 1983. Hope is a member of the Horton family, the long-running core fictional family on Days. She is the mother of Shawn-Douglas Brady, Zack Brady (deceased), and Ciara Brady. She is also the stepmother of Chelsea Brady. Hope is one half of the supercouple Bope, the signature supercouple of the daytime drama. She works as a detective for the Salem, P.D. Alfonso was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series (previously called Outstanding Igenue) in 1985. She has also been nominated for eight Soap Opera Digest Awards and won four — two with co-star Peter Reckell (Bo) for Favorite Couple (2001, 2003), Hottest Female Star (1999) and Favorite Newcomer (1984). She was also nominated for three Young Artist Awards (1984-'86). In 2002, she and Reckell won a Special Fan Award (voted online) at the Daytime Emmys for Favorite Couple Crimes Committed = Committed art theft and forgery, as Princess Gina* Participated in the kidnap cover-up of Claire (Shawn and Belle fled the country with Claire even though Philip had legal custody)* Conspired to smuggle money to Belle and Shawn while on the run with Claire* Discovered that Bo stole evidence (which was later destroyed by Kate) to protect Philip and withheld the information from the police (August 2008)* Beat and mugged D.A. Woods, Justin Kiriakis, Abe Carver, E.J. DiMera, Brady Black, and Roman Brady (while suffering blackouts/reverse reactions to sleeping pills)* Attempted to kill Bo Brady by setting him on fire (while suffering blackouts/reverse reactions to sleeping pills) (November 2010)* Held imposter Rafe captive in an abandoned building (May - June 2011)* Concealed evidence that incriminated Brady in E.J. DiMera's assault and conspired with others to do the same (June 2011-August 2011) Brief Character History Hope was born in 1974 to Addie and Doug. Addie died soon after that in a tragic accident. She grew up with her maternal grandparents until her father felt sturdy enough to take her back. He married her half-sister Julie not long after. Then, Hope was shipped off to boarding school. We didn't see her again until the early 80s.Hope returned and developed a serious crush on Roman Brady, and tried her best to get him. She tried to seduce him, but that attempt failed. Roman realized this was nothing by a schoolgirl crush, but Bo got very jealous. He wouldn't admit to himself that he had feelings for Hope. Soon, they found themselves in love, continually fighting and always making up. They intended on marrying, but Doug, her father, had other ideas. He pushed the idea of Hope marrying someone like Larry Welch, a politician with high aspirations, also lacking a conscience. They married at their second attempt. At the first ceremony Bo stormed in and took the bride away from the church.Bo and Hope eventually married and moved into the Kiriakis Mansion, home of Bo's natural father, Victor Kiriakis. Hope didn't like the way Bo was changing to please his father, and as a result, miscarried their unborn child. This caused a serious rift in their marriage. They pretended to separate, but all the while were deep in love. Soon, Hope found herself pregnant with their second child, a son, who was named Shawn-Douglas after both of their fathers. (Bo regarded Shawn Brady as his father.) Not long after, they set out on a boat trip around the world. For a while, three years to be exact, they stayed away from Salem.Bo, Hope, and a toddler Shawn-D returned to Salem, much to the happiness of Caroline and Alice. They soon got entangled in the dealings with Ernesto on the ship Loretta. Ernesto, seeking some kind of revenge, took Hope captive in a cave. The cave then exploded, and Hope was presumed dead. No body was ever found. Bo was grief-stricken, but returned to Salem to somehow piece together a life for Shawn-D without Hope.Gina was found at Maison Blanche in 1994. Bo refused to believe who she was. This woman had amnesia, but looked exactly like Hope. Earlier that night, Bo had proposed to his fiancée, Billie Reed. There were plastic surgery marks, so this could have been another fishy dealing with Stefano. For months, Gina thought she was Hope but had no memories to back it up. Alice truly believed this woman was her granddaughter and she was right. Amnesiac Gina's fingerprint samples matched Hope's exactly. Hope resumed her life as Hope, but that was no easy task. She wanted her husband back, but he was in love with Billie. Dutifully, Hope granted Bo a divorce, and Billie and Bo married until Billie realized that Bo had unresolved feelings. She left Salem for Paris and stayed there for a year or two.Hope, after being spurned for all those years, closed off to Bo in every way. They didn't get back together for a long time. On the day they were supposed to get remarried, Hope found Bo and Billie in a compromising position, assumed the worst and called off the wedding. Hope then became involved with Franco Kelly.Stefano, while she was at Maison Blanche for four years, had given Hope Princess Gina's memories which were installed on a chip. Princess Gina had been an art thief who had died in a car crash. She also painted over them, and Stefano had more masterpieces that needed to be worked on. He transformed Hope into Gina, and for four years, she lived the regal life of Gina. Stefano, in order to get his art treasures back from Vivian, transformed Hope back into Gina.Under Stefano's influence, Hope kidnapped John and turned him evil before the two made love on the yacht. After Stefano found them and got rid of John, he and 'Gina' made love. 'Gina' planned to go to Paris to get the letter that would bring her and John back together, but she and Stefano managed to be held hostage in the real Gina's castle while Gina took over her life. When they finally rescued Hope she was pregnant with a child she believed to be Bo's, until she found out that there was no way she could have become pregnant with Bo's child.After DNA tests Hope was led to believe that the baby belonged to John. Unbeknownst to her, the baby didn't even belong to her...the child belonged to Marlo, a niece of Stefano's henchman Rolf, and had been switched at birth via Stefano's instructions. The boys were over a year old when they learned that Bo and Hope were raising Marlo's son with Glen Reiber, and Abe and Lexie had Bo and Hope's son. Bo and Hope immediately demanded that Lexie return her son, and also started proceedings to keep Glen and Marlo's son. Eventually they lost custody of little J.T. to his natural father, and Abe relinquished custody of little Isaac (renamed Zack) to Bo and Hope.Not long after, Bo and Hope were thrilled to learn that John wasn't really the father after all; Bo was. It turned out neither one recalled sleeping together, but they had, and Zack was biologically both of theirs. After a brief stint as bounty hunters, and after Larry Welch came back from the dead to temporarily kidnap Hope, Bo and Hope both rejoined the police force to investigate the Salem Stalker case. Hope hurt for Jennifer when Jack was the second victim, but was utterly devastated when Maggie Horton was the third.With each victim, Hope's pain got worse, but nothing was as bad as watching Bo suffer through the loss of not only his mother, but also his father and half-brother Roman as well, then Hope's own grief when two of the final victims were her father, Doug, and lastly her beloved Gran. Hope ended up going after Patrick Lockhart, and the two ended up trapped on the island of Melaswen. Although desperate to get back to her husband and sons, Hope was thrilled to be reunited with loved ones she thought were dead. She managed to get away from the compound and meet up with Jack Deveraux, but it wasn't long before they were separated. Once Bo ended up on the island he and Hope were determined to get off, but there was a new problem. One of the island residents was Billie Reed, the only other woman Bo had truly loved.After getting off the island and getting back to Salem, Hope was determined to put what happened on the island (including Billie coming back) behind her, but when Bo and Billie learned their long-believed dead daughter Georgia was really alive and well, Hope found herself sitting on the sidelines as Bo moved heaven and earth to help Billie find their lost little girl. Once the search for Georgia stagnated, Bo and Hope worked on getting their relationship back together, and Bo bought the two of them a new boat, Fancy Face III. Everything seemed to be getting better, and Hope was even trying to work on accepting Bo's long-lost daughter Chelsea, but her world fell apart when Zack died after being the victim of a hit and run on New Year's Eve. Hope was shocked and furious when Billie confessed to the crime.Bo and Hope were unable to reconcile after Hope learned that he was responsible for Chelsea having the car that night, and the two separated. When Hope learned she was pregnant, Bo was devastated when paternity tests proved that Patrick Lockhart was the father of her unborn baby, but he was still determined to be part of Hope's life.Despite numerous warnings that he was going too far in his quest to bring Patrick down, Bo continued his investigations, and was briefly kicked off the force as a result. It all proved to be worth it to him when Patrick confessed, as Hope was giving birth in a warehouse, that the baby was actually his. Weeks later, Bo and Hope finally chose a name for their newest daughter -- Ciara Alice Brady.Hope continued to work towards a relationship with her step daughter, Chelsea. The two continued to grow close and Hope stood by her stepdaughter when Willow Stark wrongly accused Chelsea of setting fire to Bo and Hope's house. When Chelsea's mom Billie moved to London, Chelsea began turning to hope for motherly advice and the two established a good relationship.Their bond would be tested when Bo was diagnosed with a pancreas disease. The doctors told Bo that his only hope was a radical new transplant from a living donor. That donor was Chelsea. Bo refused. But, when Bo fell unconscious, Hope signed the papers agreeing to the surgery. The operation was a success and Bo and Chelsea both recovered.Anxious to get her career back on track, Hope was reinstated as a detective for the Salem PD in the summer of 2007. She worked side by side with Bo to investigate cases such as Claire's kidnapping, the Ava Vitali hostage case, the John Black DiMera drug case, and the Paul Hollingsworth disappearance case.As always, Hope became very involved in her cases. Ava Vitali mistook Hope for Steve's wife when Hope gave Steve a hug. Ava kidnapped Hope and held her prisoner in the Vitali compound. In order to protect her pregnant sister-in-law, Hope pretended to be Kayla. Eventually, Steve, Bo, and Kayla went to rescue Hope, but they were held captive too. It wasn't until Roman and Abe came to the compound that the four were rescued.Hope's next main case was the disappearance of Paul Hollingsowrth. Through the course of the investigation, Hope learned that Bo had concealed evidence that incriminated Philip. Hope decided to stand by Bo, even after the truth about the evidence came out. Bo was subsequently cleared of all charges. Hope continued on the force and was happy to work for her new boss, Commissioner Bo Brady.Hope’s happiness on the force was short lived. During an intense stand-off at University Hospital, Hope accidentally shot Kayla. She was suspended from the force for some time while the internal review board investigated, but she was ultimately cleared of all charges, despite feeling incredibly guilty for hurting one of her best friends. Kayla, however, ensured her all was forgiven.Later, Hope would suffer another travesty. During the summer of 2009, Ciara was kidnapped from the Salem carnival. Despite the circumstances, Hope and Bo had very different opinions on how to proceed when the kidnapper demanded five million dollars for Ciara’s safe return. Victor fronted the money, and Hope was prepared to give it to the culprits, but, against her wishes, Bo offered the money as a reward for anyone who could help bring the kidnappers to justice. Hope was extremely upset and feared Bo sealed Ciara’s fate – that the kidnappers would kill her and they would lose Ciara like they lost Zack. Eventually, Ciara was rescued by a Salem police officer named Dean Hartman, and Bo and Hope showed up moments later to reunite with their little girl.As it turned out, Dean was the real mastermind behind the kidnapping. He had sworn vengeance against Hope – who now thought he was a hero – because he was passed over for the detective position she received. A few days after Ciara was found, Hope unknowingly invited Dean into her home when he stopped to collect the reward money. Ciara recognized him as one of the kidnappers and Dean held Hope and Ciara hostage. When Justin Kiriakis coincidentally showed up to visit, he tried to rescue them, but Dean shot him. Just as Dean turned his sights to Hope, Bo rushed in and saved the day. Dean was carted off to prison and Justin was rushed to the hospital. He would eventually recover from his gunshot, but Bo and Hope’s relationship would not be so lucky.Shortly after the ordeal with Dean ended, Hope took Ciara and moved out. Although she remained in love with Bo, she said she needed time and space to heal. Bo was beside himself and fought to keep his family together, but Hope was adamant about moving out. After staying with Doug and Julie for a few days, Hope accepted Victor’s invitation to stay at the Kiriakis Mansion.At the mansion, Hope formed a close friendship with Justin. In spite of this, when he admitted he was falling in love with her, Hope responded that she was flattered, but only thought of him as a friend. She also told him her heart was still broken, and it still belonged to Bo.However, Bo’s heart started to mend. This was, in part, by the return of his former flame, Carly Manning. Bo protected Carly while she was on the run from the Alamains after killing Lawrence in self defense. Yet Bo didn’t tell Hope exactly why Carly was there nor did he divulge Carly’s other secret – that Melanie Layton was her daughter. Hope was hurt he didn’t trust her. She also objected to Carly staying in their home, but had little say in the matter since she had moved out. Eventually, Hope would find out that Bo had begun a romantic relationship with Carly once again.By 2010, even though she was still in love with Bo, Hope didn’t try to reconcile with him. Instead she dove into work and raising Ciara. She also dealt with the loss of her Uncle Mickey when he died suddenly in January. After his death, Alice’s health slowly started to suffer as well. Between the stress of her job, being a single parent, her family tragedies, and her more-than-strained relationship with Bo, Hope began to crack. She started relying on sleeping pills just to make it through the night.During this time, a crime wave hit Salem. Several powerful men including D.A. Woods, Abe, Justin, E.J., Brady, and Roman were all knocked unconscious and mugged by an unknown assailant. Hope was promoted to lead detective on the case and she worked hard to bring in the culprit. Ironically, she didn’t have to look far – Hope herself turned out to be the mugger!As it turned out, the sleeping pills had an extremely horrible side effect on Hope. After taking them, she would emerge from her slumber, get dressed up, and start seeking revenge on men. She felt she was “wronged” by all the men in her life, especially Bo (even though she left him, in her diluted state she didn’t know better). However, the next day she wouldn’t remember anything from the night before.Hope’s “night time,” pill-popping alter ego began to confuse Ciara. She had talked to Hope several times while in her pill-induced state. Later, Ciara would mention something her mother had said to her and Hope thought she was making things up. Hope began to worry about her daughter’s sanity and shared her concerns with Bo. Ciara constantly pleaded her innocence and even found the stash of wallets under her mother’s bed, which she took for herself.While under the influence, Hope also began to hang out with Salem’s underground gambling circle. At a poker game, she met Dr. Richard Baker. He would become her partner in crime. He would distract their targets, she would knock the men out and he would get the money while she would take their wallets as a “trophy.” Their partnership worked out well in the beginning, but, when Baker betrayed her by helping Nicole Walker frame Arianna Hernandez for the crimes, Hope began to distance herself from him. Their relationship was rebuilt a little when he helped her steal the wallets back from Ciara.Meanwhile, Hope remained unaware of her crimes and the adverse reactions to her pills. In fact, she vowed to find the culprit and continued her investigation. However, the case took a backseat in June when Hope learned Alice was gravely ill and she was slowly fading away.Hope began to spend as much time as possible with her beloved “Gran.” When it became apparent Alice would not recover, several of her relatives and close friends arrived in Salem. Jennifer was one of those who returned home. Hope was filled with bittersweet emotions upon seeing her cousin, and best friend.While at Bo’s house, Jennifer accidentally found divorce papers Bo was preparing to give to Hope before he found out about Alice. Hope read the papers and was crushed, but lied to Bo and said that she expected them at some point since she was the first one to bring up divorce. Regardless, Bo assured Hope they could deal with those issues later and he vowed to be there as she dealt with Alice’s declining health.Sadly, one Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Alice passed away. Hope was completely crushed and continued to rely on her family and friends for support. The Hortons and their friends mourned Alice while also celebrating her full, rich life. At the cemetery, Hope said, “I love you, Gran. You look out for us, for the rest of the days of our lives.”To cope with the stress of Alice's death and Bo's relationship with Carly, Hope began taking sleeping pills. While under the influence, Hope would wake up and assume a different personality. "Nightime Hope" would assault and rob the powerful men of Salem. Her attacks culminated with an attempted murder on Bo. He was able to overpower "Nighttime Hope", tape her confession, and play it for Hope when she woke up.Hope was so devastated by what she had done that she insisted on turning herself in and pleading guilty to all charges. Hope was sentenced to jail time. While in jail, Hope began to uncover an organ trafficking scheme. When the Warden realized Hope was onto their scheme, she threw Hope into solitary confinement. Hope reached out to Bo. He snuck into the prison and helped her escape. While on the run, they collected the rest of the proof they needed to prove what was happening.When the Warden and her accomplices were arrested, Hope received a commuted sentence and Bo returned to the police force. The time on the run, had pushed Bo and Hope back together. Bo and Carly ended their relationship. Slowly, but surely, Bo and Hope started to rebuild their marriage. Then moved back in together and Hope rejoined the police force.Hope was having a hard time working with Rafe because his files were always very sloppy. Wondering what his problem was, Bo and Hope began to trail Rafe. Their information lead them to the warehouse where the found Arnold. As soon as Bo and Hope figured out that Arnold was an imposter, Bo and Hope teamed up with Sami and Rafe to get proof that the DiMeras created the imposter and thus were responsible for all of his subsequent crimes. Eventually, Arnold agreed to testify against E.J. and Stefano in exchange for immunity and witness protection.Just as Stefano and E.J. were about to be booked, some other inmates recognizes Arnold as Rafe and beat him to death. Stefano and E.J. were arrested for Fay's murder, but had to be released once Arnold's statement was no longer in evidence. To take the fall for the mistake, Bo had to resign as Commissioner. He rejoined Hope as a detective and her partner.Their investigation of the DiMeras wasn't the only thing that Bo and Hope had on their minds. While Hope, Bo, Sami, and Rafe were trying to get information out of Arnold, someone assaulted E.J. and almost killed him. It didn't take long for Bo and Hope to learn that Brady was the assailant and Melanie, Dario, Daniel, Carly, and Jennifer covered for him. Bo and Hope took charge and ordered everyone to keep quiet. When Maggie, Victor, Nicole, and Taylor learned the truth, Bo and Hope told them to keep quiet as well. The feud between the DiMeras and Kiriakises continued until Maggie got caught in the middle. After she was shot, both sides decided to end the violence. Brady was never arrested for the assault on E.J.Finally at a happy point in their lives, Bo and Hope began planning a surprise party for all of Salem. Alice and Tom Horton had left money in their wills to restore the Horton town square. Bo and Hope planned the rededication, chose the menu, and assembled the guest list, which included John and Marlena. Everyone was thrilled to see them and the whole town celebrated in the new Horton Town Square.During the celebration, Hope ran back to Alice's house to pick something up. While there, she saw a pile of bank statements on the floor. The bank statements showed that Alice had a secret bank account. Bo and Hope followed the clues to discover that Alice was looking into a fertility clinic. The clinic was the place where Maggie had been storing her eggs, from her fertility treatments years ago. Bo and Hope proved that Maggie's eggs had been implanted in another woman years ago. That woman was Lillian Jonas -- Daniel's mother. Daniel was Maggie's biological son.Thrilled as Maggie was to find her new son, the secrets did not end there. Bo and Hope found a "IOU" stuffed into a Horton family Christmas ornament. The "IOU" was from Stefano. Bo and Hope did more investigating and found that Alice had called in some favors to give baby E.J. medical attention. To show his gratitude, Stefano gave Alice the "IOU." She never needed to cash it in, but Hope did.When John was framed for corporate embezzlement, everyone suspected Stefano. However, it turned out that E.J. was actually the one who framed John. Bo and Hope came to Stefano with the "IOU" and asked him to reveal details that would set John free. Stefano didn't give them hard proof, but pointed them in the right direction. John was set free and Bo and Hope were thrilled.On Christmas Eve, Bo and Hope found a key hidden the the plaque at the town square. The key was for a safe deposit box and as it turns out, was a joint box that Alice had with Stefano. Bo and Hope went to Stefano to ask him to open the box. He refused at first, claiming that they would be opening Pandora's Box. But, Hope wanted to see what Alice's secret was. Stefano explained that there were two envelopes in the box. One contained a secret that Stefano had on the Hortons. The other contained a secret that Alice had on the DiMeras. Stefano agreed to open the box, but only if he was the only one to see what was in Alice's envelope. Bo and Hope agreed and Hope got the envelope that Stefano put in the box. Inside was a marriage certificate for John and Hope. The two had been married in Alamainia, during the time when Stefano had them under mind control.Bo and Hope told John and Marlena about the marriage certificate. The four traveled to Alamainia to file for the divorce. But, thanks to some interference from Stefano, only John and Hope were allowed to go on the trip. Stefano followed them. While there, he had them drugged and held in prison until they agreed to go back under his mind control so that they could steal back a valuable piece of artwork.But, John was able to resist the brainwashing. Shortly after, he was able to show Hope a picture of Bo and bring her out from under the brainwashing too. However, the two played along with the scheme long enough to steal the artwork and convince Stefano that they needed to leave the country. They barely made it out of the country.When they returned, Hope rushed to Bo's side to sit with him while he was in a coma. When he came out of the coma, the two were anxious to get on with their lives together. But budget cuts at the police department would force Hope and Bo to take pay cuts. Hope agreed. But Bo did not. Hope supported Bo in his decision.Fortunately, his free time proved valuable when Caroline was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Bo was able to care for Caroline. When Kayla discovered a hospital in California that was performing a trial Alzheimer's treatment, Bo accompanied her on the trip. When Caroline was well enough to come home, Bo brought her back. (Though, Bo was not shown on screen upon his return.)After his return, Bo and Hope decided to take Ciara and spend Christmas 2012 with Shawn, Belle, and Claire. Bo decided to stay a bit longer when Hope and Ciara went home. Then, he decided to go and look for information that could finally put Stefano behind bars. Free from the responsibility to the police department, Bo thought that he could get further. He periodically called home to talk to a growingly frustrated Hope, who was struggling while acting as a single parent while Bo was away.But Hope kept moving forward with her job as a police detective. When a murderer named Jensen was released on a technicality, he went after his former prison mate, Nick Fallon. He held Nick and Gabi hostage on Smith Island. Will and Sonny were able to rescue Gabi, and Will stayed behind to rescue Will. But he got in a struggle with Jensen and was shot. Hope had been tracking Jensen since his release and got the to Smith Island just in time. She shot Jensen and rescued Will and Nick. Internal affairs quickly cleared the shooting as a clean shooting and Hope continued on with the police department.But Hope was having problems with Ciara as well. With Bo being gone, Ciara was acting out -- hiding documents from Hope and bullying kids in her class. Hope was called in to Father Louie's office to discuss Ciara's behavior. While there, she met the father of the boy Ciara had been bullying. Aiden Jennings and Hope immediately clashed because of their kids. Despite the face that the two of them had to work together for the school's fundraising bake sale. Hope accused Aiden of being too judgmental. Aiden accused Hope of having double standards for her family when it came to the law.One day, a man on the Town Square tried to steal Chase's phone. Hope was there, stepped in and arrested the man. From then on, the relationship between Aiden and Hope softened. The two agreed to work together on the Summer Gala -- a huge fundraiser for St. Luke's. Eventually, the two formed a true friendship.When John returned to Salem in the spring of 2014, he told Hope that he'd seen Bo and had a letter for Hope. The letter explained that he was going further undercover and would be out of contact with her for an indefinite amount of time. Hope was heartbroken. She threw her attention into her work and the church.Aiden was supportive of Hope when she had to investigate her cousin Nick's death. Hope questioned many suspects, and was shocked to discover that the evidence pointed to Gabi as the shooter. Hope arrested Gabi and helped break the news to Julie and the rest of the Horton family that Nick's murder had been solved.